Las Cruces trio keep the competitive juices flowing

Power lifters qualify for national competition

LAS CRUCES &GT;&GT; Some people spend hours in the gym lifting weights hoping to stay in shape, get ripped, socialize or kill time.

Then there are those who compete.

Steve Acosta, 33, signed up for a power lifting competition in El Paso in January. Acosta invited Fitness One workout buddies Fabian Mora, 29, and Mike Gray, 23, to watch. All three were hooked and have since dedicated their spare time to training for competition power lifting. They even have a name, The Chain Gang.

"I had these big tractor chains a friend had from a mine in Santa Rita," Acosta said. "We hang them on the end of the bar when we lift and it gives you extra resistance throughout the whole lift."

Acosta, Mora and Gray all qualified for this weekend's Raw, Classic Raw and Single Ply Nationals in Las Vegas, Nev.

"It's going to be tough," Mora said. "I'm going to go for the experience and to see how good I can place. Basically you are competing against yourself and seeing how much better you can do each time. We have only been doing it for six months and we are getting trophies, but I fell in love with it because your work proves how good you are."

All three have been lifting weights or have an athletic background. But competitive lifting proved to be different than working out in the gym.

"I liked it because it's really competitive," Gray said. "You are competing against the weight, and if you do your best, hopefully it's better than the other person's best."

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As the oldest of the group, Acosta also enjoys finding avenues that keep the competitive juices flowing while still being able to compete into his 40s and beyond.

All three lifters qualified for this weekend's competition by lifting the necessary amount weight in their weight classes at the Sun City Classic in El Paso on May 31.

Acosta will compete in the men's open division at 165 pounds.

A power lifting competition consists of three disciplines; the bench press, the squat and the dead lift. Acosta lifted a combined total of 1,260 pounds with a squat of 463 pounds, a 281-pound bench press and a 512-pound dead lift, which was a personal best. Acosta and Gray each qualified for a world competition in November in Las Vegas as well.

Mora cleared 573 pounds in the dead lift, 385 pounds in the squat and 255 pounds in the bench press and will compete at 220 pounds. Gray benched 340 pounds, which he said was a Sun City Classic record in the 181-pound division.

"I'm hoping to be able to place high and qualify for a Mr. Olympia power lifting competition," Gray said.

Power lifting is more than throwing weight around. It's a true test of how strong a lifter is.

In the bench press, lifters must keep their feet on the floor and connected to the bench in two areas. From there the lifter removes the weight and holds it before a judge says, 'go.' The lifter controls the weight so the bar hits their chest, where the lifter stops before the judge says, 'press,' where he or she pushes the weight back up.

In the squat, they key is to go deeper in the squat than the parallel position.

"Some people in the gym are really strong, but competitions make you do it with perfect form and control," Acosta said. "It's a good test of how strong you really are. And if you mess up any of that, you don't get the lift."

The group leave on Thursday for weigh-ins on Friday.

Although it's an individual sport, lifting as a team has helped Acosta, Gray and Mora in competitions. It's also led them to passing on the sport to anyone else who is interested.

"Now that I'm competing, it has changed my perspective when I'm at the gym," Mora said. "It made me realize that if I ever got to that point, I could help other people who wanted to do it."

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